The life history of Pleurogenoides malampuzhensis sp. nov. (Digenea: Pleurogenidae) from amphibious and aquatic hosts in Kerala, India.

The life-cycle stages of Pleurogenoides malampuzhensis sp. nov. infecting the Indian bullfrog Hoplobatrachus tigerinus (Daudin) and the skipper frog Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis (Schneider) occurring in irrigation canals and paddy fields in Malampuzha, which forms part of the district of Palakkad, Kerala, are described. The species is described, its systematic position discussed and compared with the related species, P. gastroporus (Luhe, 1901) and P. orientalis (Srivastava, 1934). The life-cycle stages, from cercaria to egg-producing adult, were successfully established in the laboratory. Virgulate xiphidiocercariae emerged from the snail Digoniostoma pulchella (Benson). Metacercariae are found in muscle tissues of dragonfly nymphs and become infective to the frogs within 22 days. The pre-patent period is 20 days. Growth and development of both metacercariae and adults are described.